


For Now, Let's Get Away

by HighlyOpinionatedNerd



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, In America, and maybe becoming a little bit closer to each other along the way, getting up to all kinds of antics, hope you enjoy!, nearly 4000 words of these four being young and silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 16:34:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16268111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighlyOpinionatedNerd/pseuds/HighlyOpinionatedNerd
Summary: Sanzo, Gojyo, Hakka, and Goku make a spontaneous decision to take a weekend roadtrip.





	For Now, Let's Get Away

**Author's Note:**

> The following fic partially inspired by the song Roman Holiday, by Halsey. Listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heMTVlawFmM

“Hey Hakkai, can I copy off your English homework later?”

“Gojyo, you’ve had plenty of time to do the reading.”

“Listen, ok, I tried. But that book puts me to sleep as soon as I set my eyes on it, I swear to god. Come on, Hakkai, please?”

“Fine. What about you, Sanzo?”

“Don’t lump me in with him. I did my work.”

“Mhm. How much of it?”

“...About half the first page.”

Hakkai sighed. “I hope you two realize how close to graduating we are. It sure would be a shame for you to fail anything now.”

“Hey, I tried! Dickens is boring, that’s not my fault!”

“I’d like to see anyone try and stop me from getting out of this hellhole.”

Hakkai sighed again. Sighing a lot was just a natural side effect of being friends with Sanzo and Gojyo, a fact he’d come to terms with long ago.

“Hey, you four,” the gym teacher called out. “You’re supposed to be running!”

“We’re tired,” Sanzo snapped, not even bothering to look in his direction. They continued walking at a leisurely pace, ignoring the coach completely.

“You know,” Goku spoke up, watching as one of their classmates jogged past them, “if we ran, we’d be done sooner, and then we could just chill in the bleachers. It’s only ten laps.”

“I don’t run,” Sanzo muttered. He was walking with his shoulders hunched angrily, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

“Yeah, don’t you know we’ve got a reputation to uphold?” Gojyo asked jokingly. He walked casually, with his arms clasped behind his head, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Goku raised one eyebrow skeptically. “Gojyo, I don’t think your guys’ reputation is what you think it is.”

Hakkai chuckled. He had first met Goku through their school’s peer tutoring program- the freshman had later been introduced to Gojyo and Sanzo, and he had stuck to them like glue and followed them everywhere ever since. But that was fine; Hakkai didn’t mind, and by now Gojyo and Sanzo had given up on pretending to be upset about it.

A couple of jock-types, finished with their laps, cut in front of their path, each eagerly dribbling a basketball.

“I really cannot stress enough,” Sanzo said with a glare at the basketball players, “how much I can’t wait to get out of here.”

“Well, it’s not long now.”

“Look on the bright side; it’s almost Friday.”

“Gojyo, you say that literally every day.”

“Get off my case, Goku, some of us like to look forward to the weekends!”

“And some of us just sit around and do nothing for two days because we know we just have to go back to school on Monday.”

“Geez, Sanzo, you’re just determined to be a downer today, aren’t you?”

“Well, why don’t we make some plans then?” Hakkai suggested. “We could get together, do something to make it more exciting.”

“I’m down,” Gojyo said. “Anything’s better than Dickens, honestly.”

“What should we do though?”

They paused, each trying to come up with a potential idea for some weekend fun.

“How about a roadtrip?” Goku asked.

“To where?”

“Somewhere fun. Ooh, I know, I’ve always wanted to visit Las Vegas! How about that?”

“Goku, Vegas is nowhere near here.”

“Probably about six hours’ drive,” Hakkai guessed.

“Exactly. By the time we got there, we’d have to turn around and come back.”

“Aw, c’mon! We could spend at least a few hours.”

“Why Vegas, anyway?”

“Why not Vegas? I don’t hear any of you coming up with any other suggestions.”

Gojyo looked thoughtful. “Actually, a roadtrip isn’t the worst idea. Sanzo’s got a car. If we all pitch in we could cover gas there and back, easy.”

“You’re not actually considering this, are you?” Sanzo asked incredulously.

“I just said that there are worse ideas. It might be fun to get away, just the four of us. Hakkai, what do you think?”

Hakkai shrugged. “I think experiences mean more when shared with friends. I think it would be nice to breathe new air for a while. I think we could afford the price of a hotel room in Vegas for a night. But if Sanzo doesn’t want to go, then we won’t have a ride, so, it’s not really up to me, is it?”

“Come on Sanzo!” Goku clasped his hands in front of him in a universal gesture of ‘please, I’m begging here’. “We promise to help pay for gas, and everything else! And you can get first pick of where we go, once we get there! And I’ll give you the desserts from my lunch for a week- no, two weeks! And-”

“Shut up, you’re annoying! I don’t want your stupid cafeteria desserts!” Sanzo sighed heavily. “You guys really want to do this, huh?”

“Yes!”

“You got a better idea, man?”

“It’s our last year as high school students, Sanzo. Shouldn’t we be trying to make the most of it?”

“Ok, ok! Alright, fine. You morons are going to be the death of me, you know that?”

“So you’ll do it? Alright!” Goku punched a fist into the air triumphantly. “Vegas, here we come!”

 

Sanzo had an old, dusty jeep that always seemed to be on the verge of falling apart. The roof had been jammed in the ‘down’ position forever, and the alignment was always out of whack, and the seats all smelled like cigarette smoke and spicy mustard.

None of that mattered to Sanzo. Or to his friends, for that matter. They loved that car.

“I don’t know if taking her all the way to Vegas is such a good idea,” Hakkai mused.

Goku gasped loudly. “Hakkai! Don’t you dare talk bad about Jeep!”

“I meant no disrespect, Goku. I merely want to ensure Jeep’s well-being.”

“What about _our_ well-being? If she breaks down and we get stranded four hours away, then what’ll we do?”

“Would the three of you please, just, stop personifying my car.”

Sanzo finished storing their provisions in the little back compartment- too small to be considered an actual trunk, really- and walked back around to the driver’s side, scowling at the others.

“Hakkai, Gojyo, stop worrying. We’re not gonna break down. You three were the ones who wanted to do this in the first place, right? If we’re gonna go, then let’s go already.”

“Alright, alright.”

“Yeah, let’s get going! Vegas! Vegas!”

“Goku, keep that up and see how fast you get left behind.”

The four of them piled into the jeep- Gojyo and Goku in the back seat, Hakkai up front with the gps, and Sanzo in the driver’s seat. Their usual positions. Sanzo didn’t trust himself to drive safely with anyone but Hakkai in the passenger seat.

“Everything ok back there? Alright, Sanzo, let’s start making our way west.”

“Ok, here we go.”

Goku cheered as the engine stuttered to life and Sanzo pulled out of the parking lot. It was nearly ten o’clock- a bit later than they’d originally meant to leave- but they were on their way.

 

Their path took them across state lines, over hills and down through valleys, through cities and towns and open stretches of ground with nothing around for miles.

The four of them kept up a steady stream of chatter as they went. They talked about anything and everything- the latest gossip from school, the tv shows they were watching, the various landmarks they saw outside the jeep.

“It looks like there’s going to be a rest stop a little ways down. Probably another fifteen minutes’ drive,” Hakkai said, studying the little gps screen. “If anyone needs a bathroom break, now would be a good time.”

“Can we get snacks? I’m hungry!”

“Of course you are,” Gojyo said, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, Goku, we can get some snacks.”

“Awesome! Thanks, Hakkai.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Is there a gas station there? We could stand to get a fillup.”

“Yes, Sanzo, there is indeed a gas station. I’ll tell you when to turn off.”

“Right.”

Sanzo glanced over his shoulder, moved over into the exit lane. The latest in a long line of radio stations faded out into static, and Gojyo leaned forward to fiddle with the controls to find a new one.

“Ugh,” Sanzo scoffed, as the chorus of an old Maroon Five song crackled to life over the speakers. “Gojyo, change it, we’re not listening to this.”

“Not a fan, huh?”

“Hell no. And what, you are?”

“Nah, not really.” Gojyo continued channel surfing. “Not of the music. I just think Adam Levine is really hot.”

“Uh...” Goku looked perplexed. “You what?”

“Adam Levine? Lead singer of Maroon Five? He’s hot. Like, really hot. Stupidly hot, he has no business being that hot, oh my god.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am completely serious. Hakkai, back me up.”

“Adam Levine is hot, Sanzo. There’s really no arguing with that.”

“Hakkai, stop taking his side!”

“Wait, wait, are we all just going to ignore the fact that _Gojyo_ thinks a _guy_ is hot?”

“What? I think loads of guys are hot.”

“But you always flirt with all the girls at school.”

Gojyo shrugged, leaning back in his seat. “I swing both ways. And I flirt with everybody. It’s just, the way you flirt with guys is completely different than the way you flirt with girls.”

“Really?”

“Completely different.”

“How do you flirt with guys?”

Gojyo grinned mischievously, delighting in the concerned look on Goku’s face. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“He hasn’t been flirting with you, Goku, if that’s what you were worried about. Turn’s coming up, Sanzo.”

“You’re no fun, Hakkai. Ok, I said everyone. That may have been a slight over exaggeration. Not freshmen, and especially not perpetually-hungry little twerps like you.”

“What about Hakkai and Sanzo?”

“I’ve been flirting with Hakkai and Sanzo since we first met. They don’t like me, though.”

“I keep telling you to cut that out.”

“Nope, I’m not giving up on you that easy.”

“Gojyo, please stop giving Goku the wrong impressions. Sanzo, take this turn.”

“Alright.”

“Are you going to tell me how you flirt with guys, or not?”

“No. You’ll figure it out.”

“What does that _mean?_ ”

“Chill out, Goku.” Gojyo flashed a grin at the dumbfounded freshman. “It means, if you like guys, you’ll figure it out.”

“Watch out, Gojyo. Keep talking like that, and people might think you’re flirting with the freshman,” Hakkai said playfully, and Sanzo snorted.

“Shut up, Hakkai!”

“Wait, I’m confused!”

“Both of you shut up. Come on, we’re here.”

 

A few hours of driving later, the first signposts for Vegas attractions started appearing along the roadsides. The traffic thickened considerably, as did the number of buildings they passed.

Goku and Gojyo’s excitement was palpable. They fidgeted in the back seat, twisting around, trying to look at everything at once. Even Hakkai was grinning, pouring eagerly over a brochure of attractions they’d picked up at one of their rest stops.

Sanzo, for his part, didn’t have much chance to get excited. He had to focus on driving. He’d never driven in such a big city before, and it was a much...tenser experience than he had anticipated.

“God, fuck. Fuck, holy shit! Asshole. This is fucking insane…”

“You’re doing wonderfully, Sanzo. We’re almost at the parking garage we want.”

“Yeah, come on Sanzo, you can do it! Almost there!”

“Fucking insane. How do people live like this?”

“You gotta be aggressive! Pass that motherfucker, Sanzo!”

“Shut up and let me drive!”

They finally pulled into the parking garage, at just after four thirty. Goku and Gojyo couldn’t get out of the car fast enough.

“We’re here! We’re here! We’re really here!”

“Vegas, baby, finally!”

“Alright, alright.” Hakkai waved the others over, spreading the brochure open on the jeep’s hood. “Gather round, everyone we have planning to do. Sanzo, you too. Right, everyone gets to pick one attraction that they absolutely must see, and we’ll hit those four first. We’ll make a secondary list of other things to do, and go to as many of those as we have time for afterwards. Clear? Ok, who has their primary attraction picked?”

“Theme park! Theme park!”

“I wanna see this show!”

“This five star restaurant looks good.”

“Very good. I’m going to choose this museum as mine. Luckily, everything seems to stay open quite late around here. We should be able to do all of this. The museum is closest, we’ll go there first, ok?”

“Yeah! Come on, let’s get going!”

“Hey, slow down Goku. I want all of you to stick together, you hear me? I’m not gonna be responsible if one of you gets lost, or hit by one of these crazy drivers.”

“Better keep up then, Sanzo! Cause we’ve got a full night ahead of us!”

 

The four of them did everything they set out to do, and more. Though they didn’t have long to spend at any of the attractions, they made the most of it. They made a game of interpreting the art at the museum in ridiculous ways, they played carnival-style games at the theme park, they splurged on steak at the restaurant, and they danced with strangers at the rock show.

And by the time they pulled in to a nearby motel and booked a room, it was nearly one thirty in the morning.

“That was crazy,” Gojyo laughed, flopping down on one of the beds. “I take back everything I said, this actually was the best idea. God, I needed that.”

“I want to come back when we’re older,” Sanzo muttered, stretching his arms above his head. “So we can go drinking, too.”

“Ooh, yeah. Good one, Sanzo. Casinos, too, we need to get into some casino action.”

“Gojyo, you’re a terrible gamboler.”

“He is?”

“Oh, the worst.”

“Yeah, ok, fine, I admit to that. But not you, Hakkai, you’re fucking brilliant. Sanzo’s not bad either. We could make a killing.”

“You’re really that bad?” Goku asked, grinning. “That’s a story I’d like to hear.”

“Ugh, no you wouldn’t. It involves Sharak and a game of strip poker in the auditorium after school hours.”

“Gojyo I _definitely_ want to hear that.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not telling.”

“Aren’t you fools tired?”

“Not really. I’m hungry.”

“Not to agree with Goku or anything, but I’m kinda hungry too.”

“I saw a vending machine a little ways down the hall,” Hakkai spoke up. “Popcorn, anybody?”

“Popcorn!”

“Hell yeah, let’s make some popcorn.”

“Jeez. Alright, fine, let these idiots have their popcorn.”

“I’ll go get it.”

Hakkai left the room. Gojyo sat up, and looked around.

“So how we gonna sleep tonight? These beds are kinda...skinny.”

“Yeah, well. It was cheap.”

“What if, we push the beds together, and then we can all sleep sideways?”

“...Ok, not to agree with Goku or anything, but…”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Sanzo, quit being a stick in the mud. It’s a good idea.”

“Fuck you guys. Alright, as long as you put them back in the morning.”

“Sweet. You gonna help us move these things, or not?”

Hakkai reentered the room with two steaming bags of popcorn to find the other three spreading blankets over the double-bed, looking quite pleased with themselves.

“Well, my my. Sleeping sideways, are we? A rather good idea, albeit a surprising one.”

“Yay, popcorn!”

“I think my legs are going to hang off the edge.”

“Come on over, Hakkai. Sanzo, shut up and eat some popcorn.”

They moved over to give Hakkai room, and he passed Gojyo and Sanzo one of the popcorn bags.

“I still can’t believe we really did this.”

“Moving the beds?”

“No. This trip.”

“You had fun, though. Admit it, Sanzo.”

“I had fun watching that girl you tried to dance with at the show smack you in the face.”

Goku giggled. “Yeah, me too.”

“Why do I hang out with you idiots? So mean, jeez.”

“Sorry Gojyo. I didn’t mean it.”

“You’re just fun to mess with. I did have fun.”

“Well. Was that so hard.”

“Hmm.” Sanzo leaned back against the wall, smiling a little. “You make it so easy, Gojyo.”

“I think we can all agree that this has been a wonderful trip. Just what we needed, really.”

“It’ll be a shame to have to go back to class on Monday.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Just another few weeks, and then we’re free.”

“If you can pass everything, yeah.”

“Mmmmmm.” Goku frowned, chewing a handful of popcorn kernels. “I can’t believe you guys are really graduating.”

“Me neither, hardly.”

“I for one am quite excited.” Hakkai smiled. “There’s a lot I want to do.”

“Well, you’ve been accepted to every college in the state. I’m sure you’ll have time to do it.” Gojyo sighed deeply. “Our little Hakkai, off to save the world.”

“There’s still time for you to change your mind. You too, Sanzo. You can come with me, if you want.”

“No thanks. My brother...well, you guys know the story with my brother.”

“I don’t. What’s the story?”

“He’s a couple years older than I am. But we’re pretty much the same. He nearly dropped out of high school a while back. But then he met this guy- Kou, I think his name is. Rich kid, bad attitude. My brother really let this guy get to him, somehow. He even went to college to get a business degree, to get a job in this guy’s company. I...never thought he’d do that.” Gojyo shrugged. “This Kou guy changed him. And I didn’t particularly like what I saw. I don’t want that happening to me, so.”

“Is your brother unhappy?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he is, maybe he’s not. I don’t care. I’ll save the world some other way.”

“Well said, Gojyo.”

“Thank you, Hakkai. What about you, Sanzo? You got plans for after graduation?”

“Not really.”

“This is kind of a big deal, Sanzo. You should probably put some more thought into it.”

“I have put a lot of thought into it. Just haven’t come up with much of anything.”

“No goals? Aspirations? No desires at all?”

“All I want is to not have to worry about school any more. I just want to enjoy my freedom, is that too much to ask? I was kinda thinking…well, no, I decided not to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Nothing.”

“Come now, Sanzo. We’re trying to help.”

“Tell us!”

“Alright, fucking fine! I was kinda thinking that it might be nice to go to China. Maybe India. See all the historic sites and temples, that kind of thing.”

“A pilgrimage?”

“Yes, exactly. That. But it’s not realistic, I’d never have enough money to keep that up for an extended amount of time. I’d need to work first, to save up.”

“Hm.” Hakkai looked thoughtful. “Why not find yourself a travelling companion? That way you’d have someone to split costs with.”

“Like who? How do you even go about advertising for that kind of thing?”

“You just gotta tell people, man. It sounds like a good time, I’m sure plenty of people would jump on it. Hell, I would go with you myself if you asked.”

“You’re just as broke as I am. We’d still have to save up.”

Gojyo grinned. “Ah, so you want me to come with you then?”

“I dunno. I guess it’s fine.”

“Awesome. Global-scale roadtrip this time. Hakkai, Goku, you wanna go to China?”

“I never said we should invite-”

“I wanna go! I wanna go!”

“There, we got ourselves a third person. What about you, Hakkai?”

“Hmmmm. I must admit, it does sound like a good opportunity. I would love to experience such a journey with the three of you. I could postpone my university enrollment for a year or two. But, Goku still has three years of high school ahead of him.”

“Oh, yeah. Forgot about that.”

“I don’t have to go to school! No one there will even miss me if I don’t come back. I wanna go with you guys!”

“Nonsense, Goku. You have to finish high school, at the least. No exceptions.”

“Aw, but-”

“Hakkai’s right, Goku. We’re not taking a truant child out of the country.”

Goku pouted, shoulders slumping. “So you’re just going to leave me behind.”

“I didn’t say that. We’ll just have to wait until you graduate.”

“Really!? You’d wait for me!?”

“Well, like I already said, we need time to save up.”

“That way Hakkai can go ahead and do his college thing, too. Sounds like a plan to me!”

“Thank you, Sanzo!”

“It seems as though you’re officially stuck with us.”

“Yeah, yeah. You guys better not make me regret this.”

“I won’t! I promise. I’ll work really hard in school, and I’ll get a part time job and save up all my wages, I promise!”

“Do you think we can find a way to ship Jeep to China with us? Won’t be a proper roadtrip without Jeep.”

“It’s not a roadtrip, Gojyo, it’s a pilgrimage. But yes, there are ways to ship Jeep to China.”

“ _Awesome_.”

 

They stayed up, talking, planning, and daydreaming until nearly three in the morning. In the end, it was Hakkai who finally put his foot down and demanded that they all get some rest. Despite Gojyo and Goku’s protests that they still weren’t tired, within minutes of lying down all four of them were deeply asleep.

An alarm from Hakkai’s phone woke them the next morning at ten o’clock. Well, all of them except Gojyo, who had to be physically shaken awake.

Somehow, they managed to eat, shower, put the beds back on their respective sides of the room, check out, and pile into the jeep all before eleven. Sanzo pulled out of the hotel parking lot, no longer particularly bothered by the city traffic, and they waved the city of Las Vegas a fond farewell.

It was time for them to make their way home.

 

Gojyo and Goku spent most of the return trip asleep in the backseat, Goku’s head drooping down onto Gojyo’s shoulder. After a few hours of driving, even Sanzo caught himself beginning to nod off, and reluctantly agreed to let Hakkai drive, instead moving to the passenger’s seat.

He closed his weary eyes, blinking away the lingering image of the white highway lines, listening to the wind hum past them as they drove. 

It really had turned out to be a great idea after all, he thought, taking a weekend roadtrip. Just what he’d needed. Time away from school and work, with his friends. Friends who had now barged their way into his post-graduation plans- and yet somehow he didn’t even mind. He was actually looking forward to travelling with them more.

“Hey, Hakkai?” he murmured sleepily over the sound of the wind.

“Yes, Sanzo?”

Sanzo thought for a moment, trying to find a way to say ‘I hope you know how much I appreciate your friendship’ without sounding like a total dweeb. But he was too tired, and in the end he couldn’t come up with anything.

“...Nothing. Can I copy off your English homework when we get back?”

“Oh, Sanzo. Whatever am I going to do with you.”

Hakkai sighed and shook his head, but he was smiling.

“Very well.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. That’s what friends are for, I suppose.”

Sanzo smiled, too. “I suppose.”

“Do you think we should stop for lunch on the way back?”

“Probably. Knowing Goku.”

“We might have to detour a bit out of our way. It’ll take longer to get home.”

“That’s ok.”

Sanzo leaned back, getting comfortable in the passenger’s seat.

“We’ve got time. The roadtrip doesn’t have to end quite yet.”

**Author's Note:**

> There's nothing quite like taking a trip with friends, staying up too late and getting up too early the next morning. Those are memories you hold onto forever. I hope all of you have a chance to do something like this one day, and that you have some truly incredible friends of your own to share it with.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
